TV Series Inspired by Pulp Character The Avenger Headed to The CW

Deadline is reporting that CBS TV Studios is working on a new project from Neal Baer and Conde Nast Entertainment inspired by the ’30s pulp character “The Avenger.” The show is described as “an updated Biopunk version” of the character and wil be written by Warehouse 13‘s Deric Hughes and Benjamin Raab.

Though the original “Avenger” stories starred the character Richard Benson, avenging the death of his family, this updated series is said to star “Alice Benson.” Sharing the name of Richard’s daughter, this version of Benson is described as “a young woman who, in the wake of her parents murder, discovers she possesses a superpower as a result of genetic bio-hacking which allows her to transform her appearance at will. Alice will use her face-altering talents to investigate the mystery of her parents deaths and uncover the origins of her strange ability.”

Originally created by Paul Ernst, the character appeared in many short stories and novels from 1939-1944 and was revived for a series of additional novels in the mid-’70s. The character later went on to appear in a few DC comic series in the ’70s and ’80s and most recently in Brian Azzarello’s Frist Wave, where he appeared alongside Doc Savage, The Spirit and Batman.

Should the project be picked up for series at The CW, it will join the two other DC comic hero shows – Arrow and the upcoming The Flash spin-off.